Saturday, June 20, 2015

Steampunk dining in Phoenix, Arizona?
Not likely. Especially if you're dreaming of something as cool as
the speakeasy styled Commonwealth in Las Vegas or the renovated power
plant The Edison (Ugh! Terrible name! Don't they realize who that
monster was?!?!) in Los Angeles. But we do have a few historical
buildings which date back to before the turn of not the last century
but the one before that. We're talking the 1800's here. And
every once in awhile a mad chef gets his hands on one and
resurrects the structure as a new eating establishment.

One such restaurant is the Taco Guild,
located in the heart of Phoenix on the corner of 7th
Street and Osborn. It is a converted and deconsecrated church with the original stained glass mural windows still intact.
Constructed in 1893, it began its architectural life as a one-room
schoolhouse, the Osborn School, and then became Smith's Chapel, named
for its builders Mister and Misses George and Edna Smith. A year
later they changed the name to Bethel Methodist Church, honoring
Misses Smith's home church in Illinois. It retained the name until
2012 when it was finally vacated and deconstructed.

As their name would suggest, the staple
of their menu is tacos, but with some great new takes on a bland
standard and made with local, organic farm fresh ingredients. They
also serve various salads and a few other selections of Mexican
cuisine including a brunch menu with breakfast burritos and veggie
omelets. But arguably the most important feature of the restaurant
is the full bar. From Patrón
to PBR and what they call Tequila Academia, learning to speak the
language of tequila.

But a new religious faction has
overtaken the Guild! A secret cabal (okay, a group of local authors,
but how much can you trust someone who lives in their head and spends
all day fabricating their own realities) known as the Holy Taco
Church can be found holding their dark rituals, usually with extra
hot sauce. Local steampunk author Beth Cato (The Clockwork
Dagger, The Clockwork Crown, etc) is their High Priestess of
Churromancy. Maybe you can become her tacolyte and learn her sugary
secrets.

And for all your steampunk
thrifting needs, located right next door to the Taco Guild is the
Buffalo Exchange where you can buy, sell, or trade clothing,
footwear, jewelry and other accessories. I found a very odd pair of
ladies boots, Neo-Victorian in the worst way possible. The tops are
knee-length Victorian styled boots (maybe they're supposed to represent tube socks) while the base I thought was faux spats is running
shoes?!?! The impracticality is astounding. Made by Nike, of course. So, I guess they would be
Victorian running boots. Stupid Nike. I cannot find another pair in Google image search, so I have no idea what sport of athletic activity these would be for. Ah, the joys of thrifting.

The two stores share a parking lot.
But it is rather small and usually full during peak hours for the
restaurant. But there is plenty of parking in the adjoining
neighborhood. You'll just have to walk a bit in the 115 degree heat.
Valley of the Sun indeed.